“Defend the Police” caravan rolls through Bloomington Saturday

Dozens of bikers peacefully passed through downtown Bloomington along with motorists with flags, passing the empty courthouse house square beginning around 11 a.m. Saturday during a Defend the Police caravan.

Finally, two men showed up to counter-protest the Defend the Police Caravan, and then some other local activists appeared on the steps of the courthouse to defend them.

A small group stood across from the Bloomington Police Department headquarters, including a man dressed in a police uniform, and some in the group waved as the bikers were passing.

Two officers in Bloomington Police Department cars watched the procession from the parking lot near the First United Methodist Church but had little interaction with the passersby. There was no police presence at the Courthouse Square.

A large group of bikers made at least three circles around the courthouse, the police headquarters, and past the Monroe County Sheriff’s office.

Many waved American flags, and even gave the counter protesters the thumbs up.

After awhile most of the caravan had dissipated, but a few remained passing the courthouse, and that’s when a biker passed by the protesters and flipped them off.

A short time later, a man appearing to be in his early 20s walked up alone carrying an AR-15 style rifle and a Trump 2020 flag that read, “No More Bullshit.”

Protesters began to yell, “gun, gun, gun …” and at least one person supporting the BLM protesters went to his vehicle and retrieved his own AR-15.

Protesters held signs on the courthouse square in support of BLM, and with images of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by the Louisville Police Department.

Families with young children continued to pass by the square, oblivious to the potential threat of a rifle accidentally discharging, or something worse.

A couple sitting outside a hotel in the line of fire was asked if they knew there were multiple protesters on the square with military-grade rifles, and they were unaware. A woman who looked to be in her 70s gasped, and said, “What’s happening to our country.”